ForestTECH News Issue 37

Welcome to the latest issue of Foresttech.News.

A lot can change in a month. While the reopening of New Zealand and most of Australia has been successful, COVID-19 is still a real threat. Victoria is currently facing a second wave that has resulted in a number of Melbourne suburbs in lockdown and the temporary closing of the Victoria/NSW border. It’s not clear exactly how this will impact the forestry sector on the border. A potential travel bubble between the two countries is still on the table. When this occurs and what states will be included are yet to be decided.

This month’s issue covers a lot of new tech developments. Indufor, Scion and Canterbury’s School of Forestry are working on new methods to better estimate plantation and small woodlot data from LiDAR and satellite imagery. There is also a story on how drones, 360-degree cameras and e-bikes are being used by local Councils for environmental monitoring for forestry operations. A number of NZ regional councils are also making significant investments in land use, with Woolpert and French-based iXblue Group picking up a contract for LiDAR mapping projects covering over 38,500sq.

In Australia, a national study has started to better identify the country’s private native forests, farm forests and Indigenous forests. The data will support the development of the National Forest Industries Plan and Growing a Better Australia initiatives. ABARES is currently seeking the cooperation of all relevant stakeholders.

And finally, planning for ForestTECH 2020 is now well underway. We have an exciting new hybrid format that will merge both in-person events and the virtual community. Stay tuned for updates within the next couple of weeks.

Read all the above stories and more in this month’s issue. Remember, you can also send through any contributions, stories or links that we can pass onto the wider community.

Check out all the articles below and enjoy this month’s issue.